A Fresh Word

Yay!!! The sun is shining and the sky is blue. 

(Ok... here's a thought.  Why do so many songs say, Nothing but blue skies, when really there is only one sky? Just a random thought that popped in my head..)

Anyhow, I'm alternating between being lulled almost to sleep by the windchimes on my front porch and nearly jumping out of my skin when an avalanche of snow comes sliding off my roof. I keep listening to the dogs bark and praying that an avalanche won't happen while they are standing directly underneath it. 

I haven't done a blessed thing all day, except read my brand new Bible and think...

I love new books, but a new Bible is the best.  To be perfectly honest, this is the only new Bible I've had since I really started reading.  I had several growing up, and I'm willing to bet they are down at my Mom and Dad's house on the shelf, where they have been since a few days after I got them. 

Not that I'm proud of that... but there was always so much other stuff to read.

And I never understood the importance of those old, antiquated words.

Words that bring life.

Words that make sense.

Words that connect, even though they were written so many years ago, and so far apart.

Opening a new Bible is a lot like sitting down with a friend you haven't seen in a while.  My old Bible was marked up.  Please don't take this as bragging, because it isn't... but I packed that baby for a while. I wrote in the margins and made notes and jotted down my thoughts, so that everytime I looked at a familiar scripture, there is was.  And it was always neat to see what came to mind three years ago, or to see Wallace's name and the date when he was in Texas jotted down in the margin, or to see the words of a favorite song noted...

But today I got a fresh Word.  No preconceived notions, No intruding thoughts... just me and God and my Bible, and a new ink pen, of course... for new notes.  New notions.

Today I read in Exodus 15 and 16... what a difference a few days can make.  Rejoicing turned to complaining... isn't that just how I am?  Forgetting what God has done because the present is just too difficult.  And worrying about tomorrow...

God showed that He was sufficient... for the day. Manna rained down every day, but if they gathered more than they could eat in a day's time, the next day it was spoiled. 

He's sufficient for my today, too..

And unlike that manna, He'll still be the same tomorrow. And His Word is just as fresh. 

Take Your Weather Back

I am not made for winter.

And before you get in further into this post, let me go ahead and make the disclaimer that I may come across as sounding a tad bit whiny.

That's ok... because I am whining.

The first snow on Tuesday was marvelous because I got a snow day, which I thoroughly took advantage of by working on not working on my systematic review, and reading a couple of good books.

And Wednesday I really wasn't too sad that we got another snow day. I even worked on  reviewing some articles.

Thursday, I relished in my automatic starter on my car until I realized that I hadn't left it set on defrost.  I made Wallace two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, left him in bed, and went outside to use a broom to get the three inches of snow off my car.  I fishtailed out of the driveway and made it to Hazard minutes before my class started. Thankfully, my good friend Jenna was there to get them started had I been a little late.  I missed disaster and avoided all snow drifts. 

Friday morning I remembered just how thankful I am for running water, as we had none because our pipes had frozen.  I recognize it could have been a lot worse, but somehow the whole waking up late and scurrying to pack for the trip to Bowling Green and trying to brush my teeth with bottled water put me into a lovely mood.  I did manage to be thankful that I didn't have to drive, and also that I would get something good to eat for lunch.

Our series of misadventures continued when Cracker Barrel did not have Jenna's selected entrée, but didn't tell us that until our order had been put in for fifteen minutes.  Add to that the manager that seemed to stalk our table, constantly whispering to our waitress, and the fact that the waitress dropped the tray with our food on it... Well, my day was not really improving... but good company can make up for a lot.

The beautiful drive to Bowling Green deluded us until we stepped out into the parking lot at Hobby Lobby and inhaled, only to have icicles form in our lungs.  I did find Caleb some glow in the dark paint and my Mamaw Bert a windchime shaped like an owl, which she offered to pay me for today when I told her it was a gift. 

9 AM central time brought dicey road conditions in Bowling Green, and we faced a five hour drive after class was called off after only ninety minutes... but we really didn't have any trouble. Raisin' Canes for lunch and some 80s on 8 made the looonnng trip home a little more enjoyable.

And then it started snowing again as soon as I got down to Mom's house.

Seriously. 

North Pole, you can have your weather back.

Now, I'm going to go bury myself under a blanket. 

Psalm 84:2 (In A Roundabout Way)

"My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God."- Psalms 84:2

Longeth... what a word.  Longing for something, yearning, pining.  All-consuming...

I long for a lot of things. I long for more sleep.  I long to have my schooling over with and finished.  I long for more time with Wallace and Caleb.  I long to sit and read.

Sometimes, that longing feels like it is unbearable.  The last couple of weeks of a semester, for example... I long for summer break.  Papers are looming over my head and I'm trying to type as fast as my fingers will let me, something that I should have done days before... and I feel like I will perish, feel like I will cease to exist if I can't see summer...

but I don't know, honestly, that I've ever thought of my relationship with God in this way.

Even though it is what I am made for.

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that God has put eternity in our hearts.  I've been thinking a lot more about that verse the last couple of weeks. Having eternity in our hearts means we long for it... long for that home where there will be no more dying, no sadness, no fat people, and no suffering on the treadmill.

At least if we are forced to walk for exercise, it will be on streets of gold..

Seriously, that eternal longing has left a hole in us... a hole that can only be filled by God.  I've read so many blogs that talk about that God-shaped hole, I'm not sure who first coined the term, but it is so true.

Except we try to fill it with everything BUT God.  I try to fill it with cupcakes and chocolate.  I try to fill it with appointments penned into my calendar, to keep me busy.  I try to fill it with paperwriting and school. I try to fill it with books on my Kindle...

But, because it is only God shaped, it's like trying to put a square peg into a round hole. It just doesn't cut it.

Even though I'm wanting with everything in me... my soul, my very vitality, my life and breath.  My heart, my feelings, will, intellect, thought processes; my flesh...oh, my flesh.  That nakedness, stripped down to bare bones, body, carnal, fleshly part...

That's where I get in trouble most. 

In Psalm 84, the Psalmist talks about how lovely God's dwelling place is. 

That's me, and you, if you've asked Jesus to be yours.  We are God's dwelling place.  His Holy Spirit, the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in me.

He thinks I'm lovely...

even as I'm trying to fill my flesh with things that just won't satisfy.

He wants me to long, to crave... but He wants me to crave Him.  The Living God.  The One who is El Shaddai, Almighty, All-Sufficient.

He is enough... if I allow Him to be.

If I can learn to walk in His Spirit, and not in my flesh.

Lord, help me look to You, help me cry out to You, help me long... only for You. 

Better is one day with you than a thousand anywhere else... because Your time is eternal.

Mount Everest in My Hallway

Today I spent three hours folding and hanging clothes and towels.

Pretty much consecutive, with a couple of breaks to play Candy Crush thrown in.

And there are still several piles.

I'm surprised we had clothes to wear the last couple of weeks.

My laundry management is always a problem, but especially during basketball season. With late night games, I throw stuff in the washer and dryer, then pull them out and they stay there...

And they add up....

and add up...

Until it really looks like Mount Everest in my hallway.

It is no irony that Mount Everest has proven to be deadly... because today, I seriously thought that laundry pile would be the death of me.

But I survived, to live another day and to fold another set of towels.

Maybe I'll get a snow day, and we can lounge in our PJs all day long again...

and then I'll have nothing else to write about but my laundry.  And you'll feel blessed that you have a more exciting life than me =)

Set on Pilgrimage

There's not much better than a Sunday full of football and napping, which is exactly the kind of day I've had.  Read a little, nap, watch the Broncos win, walk on the treadmill, read a little more, and watching San Fran and Seattle playing right now. 

Psalm 84 has been on my mind all day.  It's been one of those things where everywhere I turned, it showed up.  I don't know if it was a youversion selection or what, but three different people tweeted some of the verses, and then verse 2 was our Made to Crave verse of the week.  It's a short chapter, so I'd like to share it all with you. 

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.^[c]

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d] They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield,^[e] O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,  blessed is the one who trusts in you.

 

Sometimes, I'll be honest.  It's a drag on Sunday mornings to get up and go.  We spend all of our time rushing here and there through the week, and a day with the blanket pulled up to my chin seems like a pretty good idea...

 

But one day in His presence is better than a thousand anywhere else.  He is a sun and shield... keeping us warm and protecting us.  And His house is a place for all of us.

 

As I sat in church this morning, I thought about His presence.  I thought about what a privilege it is to get to go to church.  And while I was sad this morning, my first morning in church without Mamaw,  I couldn't help but think as Brittany was singing Revelation Song, about how lovely Heaven will be.

 

Yes, our hearts are set on pilgrimage. This world is not my home... but while I'm here, His presence makes it worth the journey. 

 

 

 

Mediocre vs. Magical

Today was the first day of a new semester.  All in all, it went pretty well.  It always takes a few days to get into the swing of things, to learn the students and have them learn you.

Today was also the first day back to school for Caleb. Thankfully, there was no math homework. There was two questions to answer in social studies, covering the development of the House of Representatives and the Senate.  I learned something today about how these were developed... I love social studies homework, and so does Caleb!

An away ballgame to Letcher County rounded out the night.  A tough loss, but the girls never quit, and you can't ask for anything more.  Add to that Caleb wanting to go with me, which rarely happens on an away game, and my Monday was pretty good.

On the way to the game, I was thinking of my schoolwork coming up and basketball season and my students.  The thought of being mediocre kept on running through my mind.  It's easy in school to just do enough to get by.  I'm guilty of this myself.  The thing is, it is really only a small step from the mediocre to the magical.  We all have magic in us.  We all have the ability to do great things... we just have to figure out how to express it. We have to choose. 

What choice will you make? My one word, be... I don't want to be mediocre. I want to be everything that I can.  How about you?

A Long Day

My day went something like this. 

Woke up at 445, which should be illegal.  Scurry around, manage to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and get myself dressed in 15 minutes.

Rode in almost comatose silence to Louisville.  Pearl Jam did improve my mood.

Attempt to sleep in the car while Wallace completed his PT test.  It was only 34 degrees.  I realize that I had an advantage, as I was actually able to go to sleep for a few minutes. And I had a blanket.  And I wasn't running or doing pushups or situps...

But I was rudely awakened by the chirpy skinny-minnys running the track.  Now, no offense to any of my running buddies... but why would anyone in their right mind who did not have to be out, in the cold, before dawn, be running?

So.. I read.  Dropped Wallace off at the unit.  Went to Panera bread and read my Bible and made a to do list (kind of, sort of... I still have no idea where to get started at.) and ate a blueberry muffin that was scrumptious and kind of fits into my diet, since it has fruit in it.

And I read my Bible some more.

Lunch at Red Lobster with my soldier.

Two hours in a bookstore.

Drove some of the way home so Wallace could try to sleep.

Iron clothes.

Walk on the treadmill and watch Dance Moms DVR.

A good hot bath, reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Finish looking over lecture notes.

And now, I'm snuggling with the best boy in the world and watching Disney.  Can't beat that.

This past week has been LOOOONNNNGGG.  Today was long, too.  I'm almost ready to get back to work to get settled into a routine.

Even if this week means four ballgames in six nights.